BFI London Film Festival 2022 Closing With Glass Onion

It’s either been announced or it’s been shown at every major film festival going at the moment and now, like the Lionesses, it’s coming home. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will close the 66th BFI London Film Festival.

The film will have its European premiere on October 16th at Southbank Centre at the Royal Festival Hall with Rian Johnson, Daniel Craig, Kate Hudson, Janelle Monáe, Ed Norton and more confirmed to attend. The sequel to his 2019 whodunnit hit takes place in Greece with Craig reprising his role as detective for hire, Benoit Blanc as he takes on a new case. Hopefully he will suspect even more foul play with plenty of doughnut holes.

Discussing his new film being show at the London Film Festival, Rian Johnson, says, “I’m thrilled to be back at LFF with Glass Onion, and it’s an honour to be closing the festival. A proper whodunnit really does belong in London, so it feels a bit like coming home!” Also in the cast are Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline and Dave Bautista. Whether we’ll see anyone else from the previous movie remains to be seen, however it looks unlikely at this point.

Tricia Tuttle, BFI London Film Festival Director, said: “Rian Johnson’s Knives Out was a major hit when we hosted the European Premiere at the Festival in 2019. Our audiences adored the film’s wit and that it tipped its very stylish hat to the wonderful tradition of British onscreen sleuths. And here, Rian Johnson strikes gold again with the help of the year’s hottest ensemble cast. Like its predecessor, Glass Onion is entertaining and culturally literate in equal measure, making some hilarious, razor sharp observations about the world we live in. The European Premiere of the Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will bring the house down as the Closing Gala of the 66th BFI London Film Festival!”

Recently via Twitter when announcing the title of the Knives Out sequel, Johnson described his admiration for Agatha Christie and her mystery novels. He said that there was a misperception of her novels and that she stretched the boundaries of the whodunnit in that her books were also spy stories, gothic romances, serial killer hunts, psychological character guides and much more. He has said he is using this as inspiration for the Knives Out films and that each one will have its own tone. Very interesting to hear this and now all we need is a trailer.

The 66th BFI London Film Festival will take place between 5th – 16th October with the full programme being announced on September 1st.

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Knives Out Announced For BFI London Film Festival

BFI London Film Festival has announced Knives Out will be this year’s film for the American Express Gala. Written and directed by Rian Johnson, the film features a huge A-list cast which includes Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Toni Collette, Christopher Plummer, Jamie Lee Curtis, LaKeith Stanfield, Michael Shannon and a lot more. An updated version of the classic murder mystery, Johnson has returned to the director’s chair following his 2017 film Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

The writer/director says, “I’m thrilled to be screening Knives Out at the BFI London Film Festival. This film was an attempt to capture the twisty fun of an Agatha Christie whodunnit, it’s a great pleasure to be showing it in the country responsible for the genre’s golden age.”

Knives Out takes place in the home of renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) who is found dead just after his 85th birthday. With all his eccentric family gathered, an inquisitive detective called Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is mysteriously enlisted to investigate as he informs the relatives that no one can leave as they are all suspects.

Tricia Tuttle, BFI London Film Festival Director says “With Knives Out, Rian Johnson has crafted a devilishly clever and wickedly entertaining new crime caper. As with his previous work, Johnson brings immense erudition and passion for the conventions of the genre he’s working in, but always makes something entirely his own. This is impeccably designed, with writing that keeps you guessing to the final moments and his extraordinary cast are at their arch and compelling best. Knives Out is a whodunit, as sharp as the blade that killed the patriarch at the heart of the film and we are overjoyed to present the European Premiere as our principle partner, American Express’s Gala.”

The film will receive its European premiere on October 8th, with the festival taking places from 2nd – 13th October. Knives Out will be released in the UK on November 27th.

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Peter Jackson’s World War I Documentary To Premiere At The BFI London Film Festival

It’s been announced that Peter Jackson’s World War I documentary is called They Shall Not Grow Old and will have its world premiere at the 62nd BFI London Film Festival on October 16th with a Q&A Peter Jackson hosted by Mark Kermode.

Directing his first ever documentary, Peter Jackson has also worked with the Imperial War Museum along with 14-18 NOW to include exclusive original footage which comes from the BBC’s film and audio archives. He says, “I wanted to reach through the fog of time and pull these men into the modern world, so they can regain their humanity once more – rather than be seen only as Charlie Chaplin-type figures in the vintage archive film. By using our computing power to erase the technical limitations of 100 year cinema, we can see and hear the Great War as they experienced it.” Here’s a beautiful image from the upcoming film.

The film has been commissioned by the 14-18 NOW which is the UK’s arts programme for the centenary of the First World War. Peter has had a passion for the First World War for a number of years and wanted to use his passion to create something like no one has ever seen.

Tricia Tuttle, BFI London Film Festival Artistic Director says, “A hundred years after the First World War, we know much about the horrific impact of this conflict on its soldiers, especially the brutal scale of the casualties which decimated a generation, but Peter’s film offers new understanding of the human experience of life at the front. Using original audio and moving image archive he allows the soldiers to tell their own stories. The work his team have done on the materials, adding colour and converting to 3D, is painstaking and beautiful. It makes these people from 100 years ago seem so alive and gives an uncanny sense the footage was shot recently. It’s an honour to host the World Premiere at the BFI London Film Festival.”

The film will be screened at the festival whilst simultaneously being shown across the UK in both 2D and 3D showings. See below for when and where you can buy tickets:

BFI Southbank Screenings:

• Wednesday 22nd August – BFI Patron (11.30am) / Champions booking opens (12.30pm)
• Thursday 23rd August – BFI Members booking opens (11.30am)
• Friday 24th August – Public booking opens (11.30am)

UK Wide Screenings

• Booking site goes live from 29th August Wednesday 29th August – UK wide Cinemas on sale (10.00am)

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